In 2000 an article appeared in the American
Journal of Psychiatry (“Temporal Lobe Dysfunction in Childhood
Autism: A PET Study”), which showed areas of hypoperfusion
(low oxygen) in those areas of the brain responsible for language
and auditory comprehension. This finding has been replicated
in many studies.
In 2008 the US Government conceded the
Hannah Poling case, based on evidence that her vaccinations triggered
an underlying mitochondrial dysfunction, resulting in her autism
and seizures.
In the years following Warburg’s award,
though, the inquiry into the causes of cancer shifted to genetic
mutations. The charge leveled against Warburg’s work was
that he had identified the effects of cancer, and not a cause.
Similarly, no consistent pattern of mitochondrial defect could
be found. Many believed it was a mistake to have awarded him
the Nobel Prize.
However, recent research from Boston College
and the Washington School of Medicine is reigniting interest
in Warburg’s work. (“Nearly a Century Later, New Findings
Support Warburg Theory of Cancer”, Science Daily, January
14, 2009) Specifically, they examined mitochondrial lipids in
a diverse group of mouse brain tumors and found a significant
difference in a complex lipid known as cardiolipin.
The researchers found that “Major
abnormalities in cardiolipin content or composition were present
in all types of tumors and closely associated with significant
reductions in energy-generating activities. The findings were
consistent with the pivotal role of cardiolipin in maintaining
the structural integrity of a cell’s inner mitochondrial
membrane, responsible for energy production.”
Warburg found that healthy cells generated
energy by the oxidative (oxygen-rich) breakdown in the mitochondria
of a simple acid. Tumor and cancer cells generated energy though
the non-oxidative (oxygen-deprived) breakdown of glucose in a
process called glycolyisis. The Science Daily article noted that,
"Because of this difference between healthy cells and cancer
cells, Warburg argued, cancer should be interpreted as a type
of mitochondrial disease."
The concern about low oxygen in the brain
of people with autism has spurred the development of therapies
as diverse as hyperbaric oxygen and stem cells. I can’t
help but conclude that mitochondrial dysfunction and the accompanying
low oxygen levels will eventually be seen as some of the main
contributing factors in autism.
Recent research from the United Mitochondrial
Disease Foundation has shown that mitochondrial abnormalities
may occur as frequently as 1 in every 200 people. I’d like
to believe we’re not only close to showing that vaccines
cause autism, but identifying the mechanisms by which this problem
develops.
Maybe that Nobel Prize from 1931 wasn't
such a mistake after all.
